Home
sign up| features / film feature |
 content by: editor |
 the wind that shakes the barley
Ken Loach takes on the IRA. Ken Loach’s Palme D’Or winning film, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, has been attacked for romanticising the Irish Independence movements of the 20s, to the detriment of the British. It’s a moot point because the film’s primary protagonist, Damien (Cillian Murphy), is a young doctor who decides to abandon a prospective job in London to join the Irish Republican Army after witnessing a group of Black And Tans (mainly ex-British soldiers sent to keep the peace in Ireland) attack and kill one of his friends. A sign of a good story, whether it be in prose or on celluloid is the ability to relay the thoughts and actions of the principle narrator. Here the narrator hates the way in which the actions of the British as a dominant power are getting in the way of Irish democracy, so surely it’s right that the film reflects this. It’s also entirely plausible that the brutal actions of the British actually did take place as depicted. The British director argues, “I wouldn’t call this an anti-British film. I’d encourage people to see their loyalties horizontally across national boundaries, so that this isn’t a film about the Brits bashing the Irish. People have much more in common with people in the same social position in other countries than they do with, say, those at the top of their own society. You can argue that we have a responsibility to attack the mistakes and brutalities of our leaders, past and present.” The present, Loach has argued, are the actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Loach has built his career on making political points on behalf of those on the bottom rungs of society’s ladder. More recently these have been more miss than hit as some of Loach’s political attacks have seemed out of fashion. However, in tackling the birth of the IRA Loach is back on top form. From the poetic visuals which serve as a constant reminder of the origins of the movie’s title - Robert Dwyer Joyce’s poem, The Wind That Shakes The Barley - to the excellent performances, this is the perfect antidote for all those bored by the World Cup.
Kaleem Aftab
The Wind That Shakes The Barley, on selected release 23 June 06.
 comments
Read members' comments related to this film.
|
 |
related info
 useful links
note: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
see also
related member reviews
 11' 09'' 01review
also on bbc.co.uk
books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. |
send to a friend
ken loach on ae fond kiss
ken loach on tickets
access 1000s of articles
